As I started writing this post, I realized it was getting very long, so I decided to break it up into two parts. This being the first and the second part following soon after. So enjoy the trip down memory lane with me, maybe even share your own experiences down in the comments.
Here we go guys! I mentioned in the previous article in the A is for Azeroth that you can find here(link) I would like to take a trip down memory lane, back to a time when I was much younger. So like way, way back. I was also much more athletic and handsome back then. I had at least a million dollars. Basically nostalgia glasses are working out really well for me right now.
Besides those things that you didn’t know about me and I only learned about those things myself just now, there were video games. My first experience with a Blizzard game was the original Starcraft. Everybody in my middle school that was considered cool and smart and had all the ladies drooling over them played Starcraft. Somehow those people were also my friends. Actually I shouldn’t say “somehow” it’s obvious why, I was handsome and athletic and had a million dollars. Duh…
One of those cool people during our thought provoking conversations mentioned to me that I should try Starcraft. Now keep in mind this the time when someone could just give you a cd and a serial key and you would be able to play the game without buying it. That was the norm back then.
So I tried it. I was a little disappointed with the game’s graphics. The box art did not indicate it was going to me tiny little people that you could barely tell apart that I was going to see on the screen. I thought it was going to look just like the original box art was. It is only later that I learned the depth and the endless set of strategies you could use in game. To this day that game has a very special place in my heart, because it was my first online experience with my friends.
So Starcraft was my gateway game to the online world of gaming. Ever since that first experience I could never be satisfied with playing against the AI. The moment I beat the AI the game was over, but the human factor always gave you a fresh adrenaline rush. You never know what to expect from those sneaky humans.
So after learning about Starcraft, I quickly found out about the Esports scene that was growing and thriving in South Korea. Needless to say for someone who enjoys competition a whole lot, learning that you could compete for money playing a video game was a mind blowing revelation.
I never got to a skill level in Starcraft that would be even remotely considered decent (nostalgia glasses or not) So my big plan was to jump on to the next game that Blizzard was going to release and see if I could become famous there.
And that’s how we get to Warcraft 3. My first steps in Azeroth.
I have never played any of the previous Warcraft games, to this day actually. When WC3 was announced, in my mind all sort of bells went off, one of which said “this is it, this is the game you are going to be the most famous Esports player in the universe” Not in those exact words… In fact it was more a feeling than words. Nonetheless I was excited.
Just like with Starcraft, I was too young to be able afford the game so I pirated it from a friend of mine.. Who in turn downloaded it of internet through a 56k connection, which took days. Sorry Blizzard, but I did buy an official copy later on.
The moment I got that game installed, was the moment I had my first taste of Azeroth.
Everything about it was so amazing to me at the time, still is. I still remember how amazing I thought that intro cinematic was, and then you get to the part where you select your mission and you had a 3d Orc sitting there looking at you. That level of detail is what was so astonishing back then.
Keep in mind my original goal with this game was to become an Esports superstar. So I didn’t exactly pay attention to the storyline as well as I should have. I was just trying to get through it so I can learn the four distinct races and jump on to battle.net to compete with other human beings.
At the time I was playing through the missions I was ignorant of the fact that Blizzard updated battle.net to verify if you have a legitimate CD-Key. Which as you might know I didn’t have. So that kind of slowed my progress to stardom until I got enough money to buy the real game.
During my time in single-player campaign I enjoyed the game and the story well enough. Everything was so detail filled and the graphics were great, the dialogues were all well voiced and well written. As with all things the game came to an end and I did not have the money to buy a legitimate version of it.
The good news was right around the time I finally got to completing the campaign, Blizzard announced an expansion to WC3 called The Frozen Throne.
That part of my rise to super-stardom as a famous and well known Esports super power deserves its own well written and detailed article. As you can see the common theme through this whole experience in Azeroth is that I was not there for the story. I wanted to be a progamer. We will go into more details on my experience in that expansion in the next article. So stay tuned!
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